Bungie game Destiny reveal Sunday, likely to be Xbox 720 timed exclusive
The creators of the Halo franchise have been secretly working on its next major franchise – Destiny. The studio recently revealed plans for a grand unveiling of the game and Bungie’s vision for the series this Sunday.
On Bungie’s official Facebook page, the studio dropped a post stating that more news about the game will be revealed in just a few days.
Welcome to the official Destiny Facebook page. Official Destiny news is coming soon!
You can be the first to see the reveal of Destiny right here on Feb. 17 (T-Minus 5 days).
In addition to the new Facebook page, the studio is hitting out to all the social media sites such as Twitter and Google+ as well.
Just a few months ago a document was leaked that revealed the plot behind Destiny. The game is apparently about the last city on Earth where a strange alien ship hovers over the planet like a second moon. Aliens and monsters have started creeping towards Earth from the outer rim of the galaxy to overtake the planet. Young ‘knights’ are tasked with defending what’s left of humanity.
The game will be MMO-like, offering the ability to play with a friend co-op to explore the world together. The logo from the leaked doc and images reveal that the game is set to release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. However, a document uncovered via court ruling in Infinity Ward Zampella and West case showed that there was some kind of contract between Bungie and Activision.
Apparently the contract stipulated that the game would release on the Xbox 360 and 720 first along with the first DLC. Activision would have the right to release the game on the PS3 and PS4 one year later.
It seems more than likely Microsoft fired the first shot with the next gen consoles by purchasing timed exclusivity for Bungie’s game, which probably wasn’t cheap. We haven’t seen Microsoft buy timed exclusivity in quite some time with the Xbox 360. It appears that the company is back to its tricks with the imminent release of next gen consoles.
Its odd that Bungie would pick Feb 17 out of the blue to unveil its new game, just three days ahead of Sony’s event. The fact that Bungie is not unveiling the game at Sony’s event could be an indication that this is an attempt to steal some of the PS4’s thunder come February 20th courtesy of Microsoft.
30 Responses to “Bungie game Destiny reveal Sunday, likely to be Xbox 720 timed exclusive”
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February 13th, 2013
“Apparently the contract stipulated that the game would release on the Xbox 360 and 720 first along with the first DLC. Activision would have the right to release the game on the PS3 and PS4 one year later.”
I wonder if Activision would allow a one year exclusive deal on this. This could hurt the game drastically. Many people take offense to things like this and the delayed release sees poor sales.
Look at the sales for Bioshock, Mass Effect 1 and 2 as examples.
Since this is a new IP a massive release seems like the best idea for it. Who knows though, Activision is pretty buddy buddy with MS.
Wont affect me one way or another. I don’t purchase games published by Activision after the way we’ve seen them treat their employees.
February 13th, 2013
Bioshock and Mass Effect were console sellers at the time. It’s a shame that they weren’t originally multi-plat but that’s just business
February 13th, 2013
Well, The Last Of Us has been delayed until June. This is one of the games I am looking forward to playing.
February 13th, 2013
Only a month. Not the end of the world.
February 13th, 2013
Destiny could suck for all we know…
February 13th, 2013
“Destiny could suck for all we know…”
I’d guess from the above, you are hoping it does.
February 13th, 2013
Bungies track record makes it unlikely it will suck. It’s kind of like thinking The Last of Us will suck which I highly doubt will be the case.
I think it’s interesting that if this goes the may online that’s been suggested MS will have no choice but to finally support dedicated servers and actually earn a monthly charge, unless by some miracle it’s free to play with micro transactions to subsidize like Planetside 2 or Free Realms.
Knowing Activision though, they’re probably jackin off at the possibility of adding an additional monthly charge to play a FPS online like they’ve been hinting at wanting to do with COD for years now.
February 13th, 2013
@Bird
I have not seen the game in action so I could care less weather it sucks or not.
Some games just look like they have potential to be great but end up being shit or average at best (specially MMO-based games) and if Destiny is a current gen title I have no hope for it. BF, Halo COD and Gears won competitive online gaming this generation. Bungie spent an entire generation developing Halo games, this will be their first new IP in a long time and the success rate of new IPs are very low, even lower when the game is all about competitive online gaming (see MAG, Homefront, Frontlines, Brink, Bulletstorm, Golden Eye Remake, Haze, etc)
February 13th, 2013
“I have not seen the game in action so I could care less weather it sucks or not.”
Couldn’t*. Sorry about that, but this irks the shit out of me.
Anyway, none of these games
“MAG, Homefront, Frontlines, Brink, Bulletstorm, Golden Eye Remake, Haze, ”
…were made by Bungie. When has Bungie let us down?? Marathon is highly regarded as a classic, and while I’d agree that Halo 2 had a poor ending, there is not much that can be said about it’s franchises in a negative light. If the various Halo games are not YOUR cup of tea, I understand, but to the gaming populace, they are good to great games.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Halo has had the single greatest effect on console gaming. It singlehandedly made Call of Duty the game that it is.
I think Bungie deserves the benefit of the doubt.
February 14th, 2013
“Destiny could suck for all we know…”
@Roca
Or it could be amazing for all we know! If this was being announced just for Sony you would be bigging it up! You have become so transparent with your fanboy BS! So closed minded!
February 14th, 2013
And you have become transparent about being my no.1 fan after I called you out for making a ridiculous comment.
Aww you still hurt…
February 14th, 2013
@Bird
Let me rephrase myself: what meant to say is that Destiny could “suck” commercially, not critically (which has happen to a lot of games before)… Destiny might not be a system seller, might not have the same commercial success as Halo or COD, but still could be a great 90+ rated game (such as Killzone 2, Crysis 1, ME1 etc) . It might not be a system seller being release near the end of this generation (and for the reasons i stated in my previous post)
Will it have the same success as Halo or COD?
Is Destiny still a current gen game? (It appears to be)
Glad we can debate and exchange opinions like grown ups.
February 14th, 2013
I can see Roca’s point that the market is over saturated on FPS’s ATM, but Capt also makes a good point, that it is Bungie, and that alone about make people excited to see what they do next.
I just hope it is actually innovative and not just an Unreal/UT copy like Halo was, while everyone acts as if they just re-invented the wheel.
I know I’m probably sounding like a broken record, but for this reason alone Sony should make sure Planetside 2 is a launch PS4 game.
February 14th, 2013
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Halo has had the single greatest effect on console gaming. It singlehandedly made Call of Duty the game that it is.”
I agreed to pretty much that you said until that came around. What does that even mean?
Call of Duty would be popular no matter what. It was popular on the PC and winning all sorts of awards then and the natural progression would be towards the consoles.
Halo, IMO benefited greatly with timing, and not until Halo 2 at that. Releases as a good/great console FPS while benefitting from being one of the only FPS’s with competitive MP online on console with XBL.
COD on the PC even existed prior to Halo making its online debut with H2.
People were in need of another Counterstrike, Medal of Honor type game and COD was good/great and also came out at the right time to capitalize on that.
COD2 came out on the 360 at the end of 05 as a launch title. They would go on to sell COD3 too for a year prior to Halo 3 coming out. MW came out two months after Halo 3 and changed console military FPS’s on consoles.
I have trouble giving Halo any props for the success and popularity
of a series that existed online before them and made themselves popular on the 360 before MS released a 360 Halo.
February 14th, 2013
“Glad we can debate and exchange opinions like grown ups.”
That’s always the goal
@Phranc
“What does that even mean?”
It (It singlehandedly made Call of Duty the game that it is) means that without the advancements and achievements of the Halo franchise, console shooters (in this case, perhaps the biggest IP out there: CoD) would not be as popular.
I’m not talking about the PC, because well Counter-Strike would be the FPS popularizer then. Call of Duty was not a very popular on consoles, and had nowhere near the footprint it has today. In fact, Activision was considering dropping the CoD franchise after the failure of Big Red One.
Halo made popular the idea that an FPS could be successful on home consoles, and because of its success, we have the onslaught of FPSs that we see today.
CoD was failing, and didn’t see its resurgence until CoD 4. The fact that Xbox 360 even had a CoD game was due to the popularity of Halo CE and Halo 2. The 360 established itself as a shooter’s console; the controller was modeled after this fact (notice the trigger design? Yeah, that’s a direct result of this, as the original Xbox didn’t have triggers, but instead buttons.)
I guess what I’m saying is Halo popularized shooters on consoles.
February 14th, 2013
Every shooter game that came out was called “The Next Halo” or the “Halo Killer”, from Area 51 to Perfect Dark to Killzone.
The only one that did “kill” Halo, happened to be called Modern Warfare, CoD 4.
February 14th, 2013
I would go as far as console online infrastructure being the biggest factor more than one game or franchise, but I understand your point of view even though I don’t entirely agree fully.
FPS’s were popular on PC. The console was the next step but before that was to happen, online gaming had to improve in that environment and XBL helped that to happen with Halo as the flagship title.
I thought COD2 was very popular on the 360 though…. ?
COD had to get away from WW2 and MW did that well.
One of Sonys biggest missteps this gen was releasing SOCOM confrontation prior it to being optimized like it is today. That game still has a bigger player list than S4.
February 14th, 2013
Games like Cod and Halo are so successful in general because of online play combined with the simplicity and accessibility of gameplay to the masses.
I know many people are hating on the new Dead Space game but I love this game. Crysis 3 and Metal Gear Rising are coming out next week.
February 14th, 2013
“Couldn’t*. Sorry about that, but this irks the shit out of me.”
You’ll enjoy this Bird:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXJHip7Su5o
February 14th, 2013
I remember getting pissed off when New Jerseys Governor Chris Christie said it….Yay.. So he sounds like a retard. They’ll probably make this retard President!
February 14th, 2013
It registered right up there with when someone says:
“Your stupid”
They deserve to lose keyboard privileges for a week while Catholic Nuns beat their hands!!!!!!
February 14th, 2013
I can’t help but correct people when they make a mistake like that . . it’s in my DNA.
February 14th, 2013
”
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/390947/features/destiny-everything-we-know-about-bungies-next-epic/
Destiny: Everything we know about Bungie’s next epic
It’s set to be revealed in a few days, but here’s what we know already…
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By Chris Scullion for CVG UK
Bungie is set to finally release the first official information on Destiny in the next couple of days, but while the game has been mostly shrouded in secrecy, we already know a surprising amount about the Halo creator’s next epic.
Destiny Screenshot
The Activision-published shooter looks set to merge the worlds of MMO and shooter, cross current and next-generation consoles and spread a huge series of four games (plus DLC).
You’ll find more details on Bungie’s latest right here at the end of the week, but until then here’s everything we know about Destiny up to this point…
1. It’s about defending Earth from aliens 700 years from now
Last November an IGN reader leaked story details and concept art originally prepared by an advertising agency. The leaked document revealed that Destiny is set “seven hundred years from now in the Last City on Earth, in a Solar System littered with the ruins of man’s Golden Age”. It also described a huge alien ship that hangs over the Earth “like a second Moon”. This ship acts as the Earth’s protector, and while the citizens of the Last City don’t really know where it came from or what it wants, as long as things stay quiet they’re happy.
Destiny Screenshot
Naturally, things don’t stay peaceful for too long and “strange, alien monsters [...] from the edge of the universe” appear, trying to take over Earth and the Last City. The players are “young ‘knights’ tasked with defending the remains of humanity, discovering the source of these monsters and – eventually – overcoming it”. Of course, this is all according to the leaked document.
While Bungie later confirmed the document was indeed genuine, it made clear that the details were put together by an advertising agency and represented ‘an outside view’ of the game’s storyline. However, Bungie obviously had to give the agency something to work with, so it’s fair to treat this story as a fairly accurate summary of what’s going on.
2. It’s likely an MMO shooter that still plays like Halo
Destiny Screenshot
Last August employees from Demonware visited the Bungie offices to check out Destiny. Since Activision is publishing the game and Demonware is the company that handles the online infrastructure for games like Call Of Duty, it’s only natural to assume it will also handle the network side of things for Bungie’s game.
One Demonware employee posted a blog about the day on the company’s ‘internal’ network, except it turned out it was actually publicly available for anyone who searched for it on Google.
“This is not a dedicated server game,” the Demonware employee wrote, “but there is some simulation and coordination running in their server infrastructure. The game was up and down a lot, playing in a team of three we did manage to experience entering a zone to find other players already taking on the bad guys. It’s co-operative so we helped out [...] before both groups went their separate ways. Which is a pretty cool experience, making you feel you are part of a much larger populated world.”
This, along with Bungie’s claims that Destiny will be much more social-oriented, suggests we’re looking at an MMO shooter where every player takes the role of a unique Last City citizen. Don’t instantly think Warcraft, though – according to the Demonware employee “it’s still quite like Halo”.
3. There will be four games in the series
Destiny Screenshot
The Destiny contract between Bungie and Acitvision was signed in April 2010, and was later revealed during a court battle between Activision and Infinity Ward. The contract detailed plans to launch the first Destiny game in the autumn of 2013, with further games to be released in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
There’s a termination clause in the contract that says Activision has the option to cancel the deal if Destiny sells less than 5 million copies in the first six months. Assuming it meets this goal, we’ve got four main games in the Destiny series to look forward to.
4. It might be set in the Philippines
In August 2011 Bungie posted an article on its site thanking its fans for making its 20th anniversary special. It also promised that it was working on “a brand new universe”, ending the article with: “See you starside”. At the top of the article was an image that, with the brightness adjusted, looked like a star map.
Shortly afterwards, Bungie sold 20th anniversary “bags ‘o swag” on its site for $35, with proceeds going to charity. The bags contained random Halo goodies, but seven of them contained a lucky gold ticket promising something special. On the back of the ticket was the map again.
It turns out the map is absolutely identical to that of Puerto Princesa, a city in the Philippines that’s nicknamed “the greenest city in the Philippines” and has plenty of lush Halo-like landscapes. Bungie doesn’t often ‘do’ coincidences, so chances are Puerto Princesa is the Last City on Earth discussed in the game’s plot. Here’s the star map, the golden ticket and the Puerto Princesa map for comparison:
Left – Bungie’s teaser map and golden ticket. Right – Map of Puerto Princesa Left – Bungie’s teaser map and golden ticket. Right – Map of Puerto Princesa
5. Each game will receive a massive DLC expansion
Destiny Screenshot
As well as four Destiny games, the Activision-Bungie contract also lists four downloadable expansion packs currently codenamed ‘Comet’. These are due to be released a year after each game release – in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.
Presumably these will expand the Destiny universe without interfering with the main storyline. This remains to be confirmed, of course, as does the question of whether they’ll be strictly DLC-only or also available as standalone titles.
6. It was teased way back in 2009
Halo 3: ODST was released in September 2009. Little did we know at the time that a teaser for Destiny was hiding away in the game. It took more than three years before a Twitter user found it – a poster saying “Destiny awaits” that showed the Earth and the white alien ship hovering above it.
Destiny Screenshot
After questioning Bungie about it, former Bungie developer Vic DeLeon replied on Twitter, declaring “It’s finally been found!” and confirming that it was genuine.
Does this mean Destiny takes place in the same universe as Halo? And what’s the meaning behind the “Asklon” logo at the bottom of the poster? Time will tell.
7. Bungie wants it to be as big as Star Wars
Destiny Screenshot
Bold words, but words that come directly from that leaked press pack: “One of the most ambitious games ever created, Destiny features a rich universe populated with colorful characters and fantastic worlds that are grounded in our solar system.”
It continues: “Destiny aspires to be defined not just as a ground-breaking video game, but as an epic entertainment property. The ambition is to create a universe that is as deep, tangible, and relatable as that of the Star Wars franchise.”
8. Paul McCartney is helping write the music for it
Destiny Screenshot
The Halo scores are among the best in gaming, so we had mixed emotions when Paul McCartney tweeted: “I’m really excited to be working on writing music with Bungie, the studio that made Halo.”
Accompanying the tweet was a photo of the ex-Beatle with Bungie composer Marty O’Donnell. It looks like that’s a definite, then – as long as there isn’t a 20-minute version of Hey Jude in there like the version he murdered at the Olympics then we remain cautiously open-minded.
9. It may be an Xbox exclusive… for a while, at least
Having been responsible for one of the Xbox’s biggest gaming series, it’s understandable that Bungie probably has a strong relationship with Microsoft’s consoles and knows it inside-out. That’s why the initial contract with Activision in April 2010 states that the first Destiny should be in development for both the Xbox 360 and its successor (referred to as the Xbox 720 in the contract).
That doesn’t mean PS3 owners are left in the lurch, mind – the contract also states: “The parties [Bungie and Activision] also currently contemplate the development and commercial release of Destiny Game #1 for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in the Fall of 2014, subject to [...] a joint technical feasibility analysis that reasonably establishes [...] that Destiny Game #1 is able to be developed for the PS3 at quality and feature parity to the Xbox 360 version.”
In other words, shortly after the contract was signed, Bungie started messing around with the PS3 to see if it could create a version of Destiny that would be as good as the Xbox 360 version – if so, it would be released on PS3 too. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t be the case, and that marketing pack leaked to IGN featured both Xbox 360 and PS3 logos underneath.
Destiny Screenshot
What’s interesting however is the “Fall of 2014″ part of the contract, suggesting the game may be a timed Microsoft exclusive for up to a year. Indeed, the contract also says: “In no event should Licensor [Bungie] be required to simultaneously ship Destiny Game #1 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the Fall of 2013″. Hmmm.
10. It’s likely to feature five different factions
While we’re fairly certain Destiny will be an MMO shooter, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a free-for-all. It seems there are going to be five different factions on offer in the game that players may possibly be divided into.
A while back, Bungie registered five trademarks at once – Dead Orbit, FWC, New Monarchy, Osiris and Seven Seraphs. Shortly afterwards, Bungie members were seen in photos wearing shirts with various logos on them. Eagle-eyed Bungie fans then associated the logos with the five registered trademarks, coming to the conclusion that they each represent different clans in Destiny. Quite how they’ll interact is anyone’s guess.
The logos for the five factions The logos for the five factions
Coincidentally (maybe), the real-life Puerto Princesa (where we believe the game may be set) also has five major indigenous groups – the Cuyonons, Tagbanwas, Palawanos, Molbogs and Bataks – each with their own distinct cultures and sets of beliefs.
11. We’ll know much more on Sunday, then again in March
Destiny Screenshot
Everything we’ve said so far is speculation, albeit intelligent speculation backed up with previous leaks and reveals. Sunday marks the first time Bungie will officially be revealing details on Destiny, when the umpteen blanks will slowly start getting filled in.
After that, Bungie’s writer and design director Joe Staten and its art director Christopher Barrett will be giving a talk at the Game Developer’s Conference in March, promising to offer “a glimpse of the brave new world that has been built”.
February 14th, 2013
Looks very promising!
February 14th, 2013
Micorsoft Exec Cautions Sony over next weeks
“important” reveal:
“PS4 is said to be revealed at Sony’s PlayStation Meeting event on February 20th, but Microsoft exec Jon Grimes has stated that the majority of consumers “won’t know” what the reveal is about, claiming that it won’t attract much appeal from the mass demographic.
Speaking with MCV, Grimes said, that the upcoming SOny event will be, “Important for the industry”, but added, “Whatever gets announced on February 20, the majority of UK consumers won’t know.”
He continued, “Our job is not to get lost in the industry chatter, but to ensure that the consumers going into stores, going online, still experience Xbox. The announcement is important for the industry, but it is also important to remember who is buying right now.
Exerting caution over looking too far into the future – and forgetting about current consumers as a result – Grimes added, “What has got us to where we are today is not going to be what gets us through the next ten years. Now we’ve also got to start from scratch when thinking about the future. Driving creativity, whether around marketing, retail or new business models, is key for us.”
http://www.vg247.com/2013/02/14/microsoft-exec-downplays-next-weeks-ps4-reveal/
February 14th, 2013
This will be a great game, I have faith in Bungie (ignores ODST AND Halo 3). They’re geniuses and building a world with deep history and a unique feel.
I do however wish Microsoft would get an actual exclusive of their own instead of timed.
February 14th, 2013
Geniuses at*
February 15th, 2013
“I do however wish Microsoft would get an actual exclusive of their own instead of timed.”
It helps when you have your own studios making those. MS has had those mostly working on Kinect titles instead.
February 15th, 2013
“http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2013/02/14/microsoft-everybody-knows-ps3-isnt-as-good-of-an-entertainment-console-as-xbox-360/
Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, held a presentation at the D:Dive Into Media conference, where he boasted that the PlayStation 3 “isn’t as good of an entertainment console,” something he thinks “everybody knows.” Lovely.
he revealed that 18 billion hours of entertainment have been consumed on Xbox, much of which is from Netflix. Netflix, meanwhile, have said that the PS3 is their most used platform…
Across the pond, Microsoft regional boss Jon Grimes has downplayed the importance of next week’s PS4 reveal in an interview with MCV, saying: “Whatever gets announced on February 20th, the majority of UK consumers won’t know.” Ironically, the statement was tied to a message from Grimes and Microsoft attacking the negativity in the UK games industry. ”
Netflix use is higher on the PS3 than the 360, and it has a 3D Blu Ray player built in. Not to mention all those great services are behind an additional pay wall.
The world would probably end if he said the opposite, but to blatantly lie…?
February 15th, 2013
Lol Microsoft is getting desperate.